Kardiovaskul�re Pharmakotherapie im Alter

Abstract

Prevalence of cardiovascular diseases increases with advancing age. Moreover, these patients are getting older and older. Therefore, pharmacotherapy of the elderly becomes a major objective in clinical cardiology. Pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic changes in the elderly can interfere with a sufficient treatment of cardiovascular diseases and moreover, multiple drug usage is a considerable risk factor of possible drug-drug interactions. Furthermore, treatment of cardiovascular diseases as hypertension, heart failure or coronary heart disease in the elderly according to the international guidelines is often limited due to co-morbidities restricting usage of the appropriate medication. This review addresses both, the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in the elderly and the pharmacological characteristics of frequently used drugs.